The Blueshirts are scheduled to leave for Europe immediately
following the contest and Coach John Tortorella said that two of the forwards
scheduled to play in the game will be cut before the trip.

The most likely candidates appear to be Andre Deveaux and Andreas
Thuresson but several other players shouldn’t feel too comfortable either.Dale Weise, John Mitchell, Ryan Bourque, Sean
Avery and Erik Christensen are also in danger of finding themselves left behind.

It’s unclear if the coaching staff has made its decision
already or not, but this could be the last chance for these borderline NHL
players to prove themselves this fall.Deveaux, Mitchell and Thuresson are surely AHL bound whether it’s
tonight or next week, but the other players are at different points in their
careers.

Weise would
be subject to waivers if the Rangers tried to send him to Connecticut and
he’d surely be claimed if that were the case, so although Weise has been very
strong during the preseason, if he still hasn’t done enough to impress the
coaches then this could possibly be his last game with the
organization.

Avery and Christensen will probably survive this round of
cuts, but both are fighting for one last chance in the NHL before being passed
by.Christensen doesn’t appear to be in
the Rangers’ plans, but Avery may still have some value to the team.And finally, Bourque has wowed everyone this
spring and although he may still need some AHL seasoning, he’s doing everything
in his power to force the Rangers to keep him around.

Most of the attention will be focused on the forward
competition, but the battle for the final blueline spot also continues to
rage.Tim Erixon and Michael Del Zotto will both be in the lineup as each continues trying to prove that he is mature
and ready for a full-time job in the NHL.

The Rangers will ice a much weaker lineup than the one that
beat the Devils on Friday night, but this game will have huge implications for certain
players desperately competing for the few remaining NHL jobs.

Tonight’s projected depth chart:

Brandon Dubinsky/Artem Anisimov/Mats Zuccarello

Wojtek Wolski/Brian Boyle/Dale Weise

Sean Avery/Erik Christensen/Ryan Bourque

Andre Deveaux/John Mitchell/Andreas Thuresson

Ryan McDonagh/Mike Sauer

Dan Girardi/Michael Del Zotto

Tim Erixon/Stu Bickel

Henrik Lundqvist/Martin Biron

- Keep an eye on Wolski in particular as it will be interesting to
see how he performs without star linemates Brad Richards and Marian
Gaborik.

- Defenseman Marc Staal won’t be joining the team on tonight’s
flight; he’s going to be revaluated in “four
or five days” and may fly over then if he’s feeling better.

- Defenseman Pavel Valentenko, cut yesterday, was rumored to
be heading back to Russia if he didn’t make the Rangers.However, in an interview with Bruce Berlet,
Valentenko said he’ll stay with the CT Whale and said “I’ll
never quit.”Valentenko also said he
hurt his groin during Friday’s game but didn’t tell the coaches because he
didn’t want to come out of the game.